In The Midst Of Chaos

0.4 Protect You

After Jacob and Ariella finished showering and changing into clean clothes. They went outside to see the adults. Jennifer noticed them first.

Jennifer assumed the children were a pair of siblings. But looking at them now, there was no way they were related. Ariella had light brown skin with dark curly hair, and her little face was adorable. It could be seen she would be beautiful when she grew up.

Jacob, on the other hand, was white. He looked pale even as if he hadn't been exposed to sunlight for a while. But he had a handsome little face.

'Wow, one bath, and they turned into different people. Amazing the power of water. Maybe I should shower too, then I'll be a butterfly coming out of a cocoon, too.' Jennifer thought to herself, completely unaware of the little eavesdropper.

Jacob almost snorted out loud when he read her thoughts. 'A bath can't make someone better looking, she seems silly.' Jacob thought to himself.

"Well, look at you guys, little cuties." Jennifer teased when the pair got closer to her.

Ariella kept her head down, as for Jacob, he nodded in response before pulling Ariella along to Justin and Axel's side.

"Can we use the cars?" Jacob asked when he stopped beside them.

"I was just having a discussion with Axel about that. As long as we have gas, we can make it a few hundred miles before it gives out completely. " Justin turned and explained to the children.

"Good, which direction are we going to head?" Jacob nodded at Justin before he inquired.

"Um, I'm not sure yet, I wonder if this place has a map?" Justin hummed, tapping his chin in thought.

"A map would be useless. We need to avoid all major roadways and towns." Axel reminded Justin.

"Ah f**k right, then should we just pick a direction and go with it?" Justin asked Axel.

"I don't know about you guys, but we'd like to go east, as far east as you can take us." Jacob interrupted and told them. "I don't know if that's possible?"

"East? Why east?" Justin frowned as he probed Jacob. "Is there something east?"

"We're looking to find someone east," Jacob answered vaguely. Justin pursed his lips and nodded.

"Well, I'm okay with heading east, but I still need to ask the others before we give you a positive answer." Justin informed the children. Jacob nodded in understanding.

"Have you collected the remaining supplies?" Jacob turned and asked Jennifer.

"Oh? Yeah, I did. It's safe with me." She smiled at the children.

"Then," Jacob hesitated, glancing at the adults present. "Ariella and I, we're going to have something to eat and go to sleep."

"Oh yeah, don't worry, we will set up a night watch. Go to bed, we got this." Justin nodded in understanding while he replied.

Jacob gave them a weak smile before pulling Ariella back into the house. Leaving the three adults outside. Jennifer was the first to speak.

"Are we going to ignore the fact something is very off with those children?" pondered out loud to the two young men.

"For now, we will ignore it." Justin dismissed it as he began to walk back towards where the others were.

"We can't f*****g ignore this, Justin," forewarned Jennifer. Justin stopped walking and turned to his sister.

"Stop and think about it for a minute, Jennifer. They gave us the supplies for safekeeping. Even if we are suspicious of them, they have already told us numerous times with their actions that they will not hurt us." Justin analyzed for Jennifer. Axel, on one hand, chose to stay quiet on the matter.

"Then the good outweighs the bad?" Jennifer clenched her fist, "That's bullshit, Justin."

Justin scoffed in disbelief.

"Then what do you want us to do? Should we tie those children up, or do you want to kill them?" Justin walked toward his sister and peered down at her, his voice cold as ice.

"We need to at least vote on it. They are dangerous and can be a danger to us. Not to mention this empty base. The people here didn't just disappear into thin air." Jennifer tried to explain her view. "It doesn't hurt being extra cautious."

Justin scowled as he declared, "I'm not tying up children, nor am I killing them."

"I second what he said." Axel agreed with Justin. From Axel's point of view, children needed to be protected.

"I never said anything about that. I'm just saying........" Jennifer sighed and began to defend herself when she was cut off.

"You should really argue about stuff like this away from us." Ariella suddenly cuts Jennifer off. Shocking the three adults as nobody saw when she arrived beside them.

"You-" Jennifer paused as she looked away, one of the people she was bad-mouthing was standing right there.

"Look, I don't give a f**k about your suspicion. Frankly, I'd rather not deal with you people. But neither Jake and I can drive, and the place we're going is far. " Ariella began to explain. "You got supplies and two working vehicles, and you're ready to toss us to the side."

"No, you misunderstand, it's not like that." Justin tried to defend against that claim.

"If it's not so, then what is it like?" Ariella curled her lips in a sneer and retorted.

"All I'm saying is it's hard to trust the random goodwill of others," Jennifer argued, making Ariella look at her and laugh.

"You're a hypocrite." Ariella laughed, "You want to know everything about us, but are you willing to share anything about yourself?"

"Ellie," Jacob called out from inside the house. Four pairs of eyes turned to the house. Jacob stood at the door, his lips pressed into a thin line as he glared at Ariella.

"Jake...." Ariella softly called out his name, her head drooped down. As she twirled her finger nervously.

Jacob didn't reply. He just walked out of the house and grabbed Ariella and pulled her inside before locking the door behind them, the trio in silence.

"Let's head back," Justin broke the silence and suggested. Axel and Jennifer nodded in agreement.

Jacob watched as the trio left before he turned and glared at Ariella. "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Ariella pursed her lips and avoided his gaze.

"Ariella, why can't you stick to the plan? I made a plan for a reason!" Jacob felt like tugging out his hair.

"Your plan is flawed, Jacob." Ariella calmly accepted her fate for the lecture that was about to come. "They are suspicious of us, the innocent child's act isn't going to cut it."

"f**k! Ellie, I know what they're thinking. I can read their f*****g minds. I know they are suspicious of us, but Ellie, we have an advantage they don't have." Jacob fumed.

"Jake....." Ariella bit her lip and called out his name tentatively, but Jacob just glared at her.

"Our abilities, they're stronger than theirs, but Ariella, it seems you've forgotten that you and I do not have the physical strength to fight them." Jacob berated Ariella. "Your safety comes above everything else. Stop defying me on this. I know what I'm doing."

Ariella fell silent, her head drooped. 'Stupid, this is stupid!' she thought. Jacob read her mind and sighed. He moved close to her and raised his hand to rub her head softly to comfort her, but what she did completely threw him off.

Seeing that he was moving close, Ariella cleared her mind, and as his hand touched her head, she balled her fist and punched him in the stomach. Jacob doubled over with a whince.

"Ellie!" Jacob roared. Ariella stood up and glowered at him.

"Take this as a lesson. People don't always do what they think. People are unpredictable. Even if you can hear the thoughts of others, it's not all-knowing." Ariella advised Jacob.

Jacob's lips twitched. He knew better than anyone what Ariella said was the truth, but he still made a mistake like that.

"Fine, you win. Scrap the plan. Let's just go with the flow." Jacob gave in to Ariella, who immediately beamed with joy.

"Really, Jakey? Can I be myself now?" Ariella grabbed his hand and swung it in a fawning manner.

"Yes, Ellie. I'm sorry I made you do this. I was wrong." Jacob apologized to her.

"No, don't be, I know you're trying to protect me, but in the same way you want to protect me, I want to protect you. That's why I hit you." Ariella explained. "I want to protect you too."

"You did protect me. Thanks to you, I won't over-rely on my ability." Jacob straightened his body and patted Ariella on her head.

"Let's eat and go to bed, yeah?" Ariella hugged him and suggested. Jacob smiled and hummed in agreement.